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Sunday, July 5, 2015

Oh Hey, Friday - Patriotic Weekend

Messy Messy Fail - We had a few friends over for the 4th of July - lots of kids running around, good drinks and good food. I had some minnie pizza bagels in the toaster oven that I wanted to serve as part of our lunch (appetizers, just like Mermaids!). I checked on them after about 20 minutes and they were not quite ready yet, so I left them in for a few more. About 25 minutes and a tasty drink later, I realized I had forgotten about them and went hauling inside. Too late - quite well done, hockey puck-like is how I would describe them. To my disbelief our gracious guests still ate them - too kind.

Tidy Victory - Some good friends and I always go strawberry picking in June when the berries are ripe. U-pick is so much less expensive and gives the ladies a great opportunity to spend some time together. Our first patch that we always go to ended up having a poor crop due to the surplus of rain and lack of heat, so we went to a new patch we had heard about in Pennsylvania (which is only a few minutes away). The berries were MUCH better - we were able to pick 6 quarts in less than two hours. We also ended up finding an amazing New York style pizzeria which served cannolis to order for lunch. Double score!

I really love the 4th of July, although not as much as Christmas. The picnics, the fireworks, the family time just makes for a terrific start to the summer. We have a few traditions including going to a local parade in the morning, picnic for lunch and dinner, and watching fireworks with a bowl of popcorn from the bed of our pickup the end the day. A few things to recap our Independence Day:<One> Patriotic Jams - I ordered buy three get one free from a co-worker who sells them. I purchased these especially for the 4th - how festive!

<Two> Deck Flower Baskets and Planters - I finally finished them! The rain has held off long enough and having people over made me hustle and get them done. Definitely cost less than buying three from the greenhouse. I will be posting on what and how I put them together later.

<Three> Opera - My husband works at Chautauqua Institution in the opera house during the summer. Opera is one of my favorite forms of the creative arts - the costumes, the sets, and of course the MUSIC! This summer, the productions include Macbeth (which I had no idea was an opera!) and Eugene Onegin. I always try to attend the performances when I can.<Four> Strawberries - So as I said above, I was able to pick 6 quarts of strawberries when I initially went out. The berries were certainly not as good as previous years, but definitely good enough for making freezer jam (which is my primary use of the berries). When there have been better crops, I've had enough berries for jam and strawberry shortcake, strawberry ice cream and strawberry rhubarb pie. This year, not so much. But that's okay, I'll pick up some extra strawberries at my happy place (Wegmans).

<Five> Polka Dot Wine Glass - This literally just happened - I had a nice glass of a white house wine on the floor next to the couch where I'm typing. Of course there are fireworks going off in our neighborhood the day after the 4th of July, the dog goes berserk and breaks my amazing Marquis by Waterford Polka Dot wine glass. Quick search on the Internet takes me to replacements.com and low and behold, there is my broken glass. I'll let you know how this works out.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July weekends with their families like I did! I hope to post about my fun red, white & blue dessert that I made within the next few days. In the meantime, have a great start to your summer and week!